Robust Shape Optimization of Uncertain Dense Gas Flows Through a Plane Turbine Cascade

Author(s):  
Samuel J. Hercus ◽  
Paola Cinnella

A robust shape optimization procedure based on a multi-objective genetic algorithm coupled to a non-intrusive uncertainty quantification analysis was applied to a transonic inviscid flow of a dense gas over a plane turbine cascade. The goal was to simultaneously improve the mean turbine performance and the system stability under fluctuating thermodynamic inlet conditions. Despite an elevated computational cost, the optimization procedure was capable of generating a Pareto front of turbine geometries which improved the mean isentropic turbine efficiency μ(ηs) over the baseline profile, while limiting the solution variability in terms of the coefficient of variation of the power output CV(P2D). In addition to demonstrating an excellent parallel scalability over 1600 processors, the robust optimization revealed that variability of CV(P2D) depends more on the variation of inlet conditions than turbine geometry. A posteriori stochastic analyses on selected optimized turbine geometries allowed an investigation of flow behavior variability, as well as propositions for the improved selection of robust optimization cost criteria in future simulations.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Gouttière ◽  
Dirk Wunsch ◽  
Rémy Nigro ◽  
Virginie Barbieux ◽  
Charles Hirsch

Abstract A robust design optimization of a 1.5 stage axial compressor with secondary flows from Safran Aero Boosters is investigated. A total of 9 simultaneous operational and geometrical uncertainties are propagated for the nominal design point as well as for two off-design points, close to stall and choke conditions respectively. These uncertainties, including mass flow rates of the secondary flows, tip gap size of the rotor and highly correlated profiles on the inlet condition, are propagated by the Non-Intrusive Probabilistic Collocation method. In order to understand the effects of the uncertainties on the performances and to minimize the computational cost of the robust optimization, a preliminary uncertainty quantification (UQ) study of the original design is performed to identify and rule out less influential uncertainties. Contrary to what was expected, the imposed geometrical uncertainties on the tip gap are identified to have the relatively smallest influence on the performances by means of scaled sensitivity derivatives. The global objective of the robust design optimization is to minimize the standard deviations of the main compressor performances at all three operating points and to preserve the mean values of these performances. Because the objective functions are standard deviations, this study is only possible in a robust optimization setting, by propagating the simultaneous operational and geometrical uncertainties. A total of 9 stochastic objectives and 15 stochastic constraints are taken into account. The best optimal design preserves the mean performances of the compressor, while the standard deviations are minimized compared with the original design, ensuring a more robust operation. This effect is very pronounced in the off-design points.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Yongqiang Wang ◽  
Ye Liu ◽  
Xiaoyi Ma

The numerical simulation of the optimal design of gravity dams is computationally expensive. Therefore, a new optimization procedure is presented in this study to reduce the computational cost for determining the optimal shape of a gravity dam. Optimization was performed using a combination of the genetic algorithm (GA) and an updated Kriging surrogate model (UKSM). First, a Kriging surrogate model (KSM) was constructed with a small sample set. Second, the minimizing the predictor strategy was used to add samples in the region of interest to update the KSM in each updating cycle until the optimization process converged. Third, an existing gravity dam was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the GA–UKSM. The solution obtained with the GA–UKSM was compared with that obtained using the GA–KSM. The results revealed that the GA–UKSM required only 7.53% of the total number of numerical simulations required by the GA–KSM to achieve similar optimization results. Thus, the GA–UKSM can significantly improve the computational efficiency. The method adopted in this study can be used as a reference for the optimization of the design of gravity dams.


Author(s):  
Pierre Duysinx ◽  
WeiHong Zhang ◽  
HaiGuang Zhong ◽  
Pierre Beckers ◽  
Claude Fleury

Abstract A robust and automatic shape optimization procedure is presented in this paper, which incorporates recent developments in the field of computer-aided design (CAD) of mechanical structures, such as geometric modelling, automatic selection of independent design variables, sensitivity analysis using reliable mesh perturbation schemes, error estimation and adaptive mesh refinement. A numerical example is given to show the efficiency of the procedure.


Author(s):  
Shinji Honami ◽  
Wataru Tsuboi ◽  
Takaaki Shizawa

This paper presents the effect of flame dome depth on the total pressure performance and flow behavior in a sudden expansion region of the combustor diffuser without flow entering the dome head. The mean velocity and turbulent Reynolds stress profiles in the sudden expansion region were measured by a Laser Doppler Velocitmetry (LDV) system. The experiments show that total pressure loss is increased, when flame dome depth is increased. Installation of an inclined combuster wall in the sudden expansion region is suggested from the viewpoint of a control of the reattaching flow. The inclined combustor wall is found to be effective in improvement of the diffuser performance. Better characteristics of the flow rate distribution into the branched channels are obtained in the inclined wall configuration, even if the distorted velocity profile is provided at the diffuser inlet.


2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subrata K. Ghosh ◽  
R. K. Sahoo ◽  
Sunil K. Sarangi

A study has been conducted to determine the off-design performance of cryogenic turboexpander. A theoretical model to predict the losses in the components of the turboexpander along the fluid flow path has been developed. The model uses a one-dimensional solution of flow conditions through the turbine along the mean streamline. In this analysis, the changes of fluid and flow properties between different components of turboexpander have been considered. Overall, turbine geometry, pressure ratio, and mass flow rate are input information. The output includes performance and velocity diagram parameters for any number of given speeds over a range of turbine pressure ratio. The procedure allows any arbitrary combination of fluid species, inlet conditions, and expansion ratio since the fluid properties are properly taken care of in the relevant equations. The computational process is illustrated with an example.


Author(s):  
Martin Berthold ◽  
Hervé Morvan ◽  
Colin Young ◽  
Richard Jefferson-Loveday

High loads and bearing life requirements make journal bearings the preferred choice for use in high power, epicyclic gearboxes in jet engines. In contrast to conventional, non-orbiting journal bearings in epicyclic star gearboxes, the kinematic conditions in epicyclic planetary arrangements are much more complex. With the planet gears rotating about their own axis and orbiting around the sun gear, centrifugal forces generated by both motions interact with each other and affect the external flow behavior of the oil exiting the journal bearing. This paper presents a literature and state-of-the-art knowledge review to identify existing work performed on cases similar to external journal bearing oil flow. In order to numerically investigate external journal bearing oil flow, an approach to decompose an actual journal bearing into simplified models is proposed. Later, these can be extended in a step-wise manner to allow key underlying physical phenomena to be identified. Preliminary modeling considerations will also be presented. This includes assessing different geometrical inlet conditions with the aim of minimizing computational requirements and different numerical models for near-wall treatment. The correct choice of near-wall treatment models is particularly crucial as it determines the bearing’s internal and external thermal behavior and properties. The findings and conclusions are used to create a three dimensional (3D), two-component computational fluid dynamic (CFD) sector model with rotationally periodic boundaries of the most simplistic approximation of an actual journal bearing: a non-orbiting representation, rotating about its own axis, with a circumferentially constant, i.e. concentric, lubricating gap. The inlet boundary conditions for simulating the external oil flow are generated by partly simulating the internal oil flow within the lubricating gap. In order to track the phase interface between the oil and the air surrounding the bearing, the Volume of Fluid (VoF) method is used. The quality of the CFD simulations of the domain of interest is not only dependent on the accuracy of the inlet conditions, but is also dependent on the computational mesh type, cell count, cell shape and numerical methods used. External journal bearing oil flow was simulated with a number of different mesh densities and the effect on the flow field behavior will be discussed. Two different operating temperatures, representing low and high viscosity oil, were used and their effect on the flow field behavior will also be assessed. In order to achieve the future objective of creating a design tool for routine use, key areas will be identified in which further progress is required. This includes the need to progressively increase the model fidelity to eventually simulate an orbiting journal bearing in planetary configuration with an eccentric, i.e. convergent-divergent, lubricating gap.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Bartl ◽  
Lars Sætran

Abstract. This is a summary of the results of the fourth Blind test workshop which was held in Trondheim in October 2015. Herein, computational predictions on the performance of two in-line model wind turbines as well as the mean and turbulent wake flow are compared to experimental data measured at NTNU's wind tunnel. A detailed description of the model geometry, the wind tunnel boundary conditions and the test case specifications was published before the workshop. Expert groups within Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) were invited to submit predictions on wind turbine performance and wake flow without knowing the experimental results at the outset. The focus of this blind test comparison is to examine the model turbines' performance and wake development up until 9 rotor diameters downstream at three different atmospheric inflow conditions. Besides a spatially uniform inflow field of very low turbulence intensity (TI = 0.23 %) as well as high turbulence intensity (TI = 10.0 %), the turbines are exposed to a grid-generated atmospheric shear flow (TI = 10.1 %). Five different research groups contributed with their predictions using a variety of simulation models, ranging from fully resolved Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) models to Large Eddy Simulations (LES). For the three inlet conditions the power and the thrust force of the upstream turbine is predicted fairly well by most models, while the predictions of the downstream turbine's performance show a significantly higher scatter. Comparing the mean velocity profiles in the wake, most models approximate the mean velocity deficit level sufficiently well. However, larger variations between the models for higher downstream positions are observed. The prediction of the turbulence kinetic energy in the wake is observed to be very challenging. Both the LES model and the IDDES (Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation) model, however, are consistently managing to provide fairly accurate predictions of the wake turbulence.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Barbosa Aguiar ◽  
Jennifer Waters ◽  
Martin Price ◽  
Gordon Inverarity ◽  
Christine Pequignet ◽  
...  

<div> <p>The importance of oceans for atmospheric forecasts as well as climate simulations is being increasingly recognised with the advent of coupled ocean / atmosphere forecast models. Having comparable resolutions in both domains maximises the benefits for a given computational cost. The Met Office has recently upgraded its operational global ocean-only model from an eddy permitting 1/4 degree tripolar grid (ORCA025) to the eddy resolving 1/12 degree ORCA12 configuration while retaining 1/4 degree data assimilation. </p> </div><div> <p>We will present a description of the ocean-only ORCA12 system, FOAM-ORCA12, alongside some initial results. Qualitatively, FOAM-ORCA12 seems to represent better (than FOAM-ORCA025) the details of mesoscale features in SST and surface currents. Overall, traditional statistical results suggest that the new FOAM-ORCA12 system performs similarly or slightly worse than the pre-existing FOAM-ORCA025. However, it is known that comparisons of models running at different resolutions suffer from a double penalty effect, whereby higher-resolution models are penalised more than lower-resolution models for features that are offset in time and space. Neighbourhood verification methods seek to make a fairer comparison using a common spatial scale for both models and it can be seen that, as neighbourhood sizes increase, ORCA12 consistently has lower continuous ranked probability scores (CRPS) than ORCA025. CRPS measures the accuracy of the pseudo-ensemble created by the neighbourhood method and generalises the mean absolute error measure for deterministic forecasts. </p> </div><div> <p>The focus over the next year will be on diagnosing the performance of both the model and assimilation. A planned development that is expected to enhance the system is the update of the background-error covariances used for data assimilation. </p> </div>


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